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Last tour of duty for ‘the Sarge’ ends on Veterans Day

The U.S. Army’s sponsorship of the Top Fuel dragster driven by Tony Schumacher ends with the final event of the season, the NHRA Finals at Auto Club Raceway in Pomona, CA, and the team hopes to have a celebration on Sunday, Veterans Day.

“This weekend marks the end of our partnership with the U.S. Army and I must say I have thoroughly enjoyed 18 full seasons with them,” Schumacher said. “What we’ve done for the Army and representing them – number one, building the youth into wanting a future in the Army – our job was done extremely well, and the recruiting mission was very, very successful.”

Since the U.S. Army partnership with DSR began in 2000, they have seen seven Top Fuel world championships, 80 event wins, 86 No. 1 qualifiers and 745 round wins.

Schumacher’s team goes into the final event third in the standings. Although Steve Torrence has already clinched the championship, Schumacher is just 33 points behind second-place Clay Millican, a deficit that can be eliminated with the points-and-a-half for this event. They’ll look to work some Pomona magic this weekend and grab the No. 2 spot in the final standings under first-year crew chief Mike Neff, who scored his first career Top Fuel win as a crew chief in June at Bristol, TN. (Ron Lewis photos) [11/08/18]

Balduf’s Batman returns

Testing began Wednesday for the Batmobile V2.0, with 27-year-old Jerico Balduf back behind the wheel of a lighter and renewed Andy McCoy Race Cars '69 Chevelle blown Pro Mod.

McCoy, the original builder of the car, was tasked with supplying and fitting the new carbon fiber body, replacing the heavier fiberglass predecessor, fitting the new wheels and tires and giving everything the once over, after the chassis came back off the jig to check there was no chassis damage.

Balduf will get in more testing before qualifying begins Friday for this weekend’s BLP Performance World Street Nationals in Orlando, FL. [11/08/18]

Anderson will settle for ‘historic’ 13th win at Pomona

A consistent NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series regular season did not lead to Pro Stock Greg Anderson contending for a fifth world championship this year, but the longtime standout still has a chance to end his 2018 campaign on a good note at this weekend’s 54th annual Auto Club NHRA Finals at Auto Club Raceway at Pomona, where Anderson will look for his 13th win at the facility.

That would give Anderson the most wins in Pro Stock history at the historic facility, breaking the current tie with the legendary Bob Glidden. It is something that is definitely on Anderson’s mind heading to the season-finale, as is finishing his 2018 season on the best note possible in his Summit Racing Equipment Chevrolet Camaro.

“It would mean a lot,” said Anderson, who has 91 career victories. “We’ve struggled in the Countdown, but as a team, with Jason (Line) and Bo (Butner), we’ve won the last two events and I would love to get a win myself. We’re not going to win a championship and that’s definitely a letdown, but it’s very important for the team to find a way to win three in a row to end the season. It’s a confidence-booster through the winter and it’s the only way to get some positive vibes.” (Ron Lewis photo)[11/08/18]

NHRA releases 2019 LODRS schedule

The NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series returns to action for an 18th year during the 2019 race season to compete at premier racing facilities across the country. The upcoming 2019 schedule includes 44 divisional events with a minimum of six in each of the seven divisions. Additionally, there will also be 26 regional events featuring the 260-mph Top Alcohol Dragster and Top Alcohol Funny Car classes during the 2019 campaign.

Bonus programs available to competitors in the NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series include the $100,000 JEGS Allstars. Individual divisions will also have additional bonus programs available to racers.

Cruz Pedregon visits Rome

That would be sports radio talk show host Jim Rome, not the Italian city. Cruz Pedregon was on the Jim Rome Show today (Nov. 8) talking about his career, his accident at Bandimere Speedway earlier this season, and how long he plans on racing.

Wanted: Australian correspondent for DRO

After many years our Australian correspondent Jon Van Daal is moving on. If you’re a writer/photographer in the antipodes, sent DRO editor Jeff Burk an email with a sample of your writing and photography to jeffburk@racingnetsource.com. [11/08/18]

Accutime adds TruSTART feature to timing system

TruSTART, the Worst Red, was introduced to big buck bracket racing by Bob Brockmeyer of Compulink, Peter Biondo, Kyle Seipel, and Jeff Foster at the 2016 Spring Fling Million Vegas event. For handicap drag racing, the system awards the lesser of two red-lights the win rather than the first red-light. With the response overwhelmingly positive, over 50 tracks around the country utilizing the Compulink timing system already jumped on board with this new feature, as well as it being utilized by many of the NHRA Summit ET Finals in the past three years.

For the past few months, Rusty Crawford from Accutime Timing Systems and Bob Brockmeyer have been talking about the possibility of Accutime utilizing the feature in their timing systems.

“From the start, Peter Biondo, Kyle Seipel and myself have believed that TruSTART is great for the sport of handicapped drag racing,” stated Brockmeyer. “To continue our vision, it made sense to team up with Accutime, licensing it for use on their systems so that it becomes more the nationwide standard.” [11/08/18]

New Product of the Day

Strange Engineering S-Series Nodular Iron Case

Strange Engineering continues to meet the needs of its customers by offering a nodular iron case that is designed for street and hardcore street/track applications -- specifically designed for use with posi units, helical differentials and lockers -- but still rigid and strong enough to use with a spool. Strength and rigidity are key factors to a foundation that helps allow smooth and quiet gear operation. The Strange S-Series nodular iron case features nodular iron caps, reinforced tail bearing and a radial rib design for increased strength. The S-case is manufactured from premium nodular iron material by Strange in the USA. These assemblies come standard with a Daytona pinion support and the street gear of your choice. Spool and differential options are available to complete an assembly for your application. [11/08/18]